BRUSSELS, Belgium, January 25, 2005 - ASIMO, Honda's advanced humanoid robot, met with members of the EU institutions today at an historic meeting at the European Parliament, Brussels. ASIMO's appearance, which included a demonstration of its unique ability to walk up and down stairs, was part of a wider presentation by Honda to the Parliament on developments in humanoid robots and their benefits to society. Professor Dr. Edgar Koerner, President of Honda Research Institute (Europe) led the presentations.

Today's meeting at the Parliament coincides with the European Commission's announcement earlier this month to fund RobotCub, a project aimed at moving research forward in Europe in the field of humanoid robotics and cognitive neuroscience.

Although ASIMO is entirely independent of the RobotCub project; it demonstrates the groundbreaking technological advancements which have been made by Honda in this area of science and research.

In his speech, Professor Dr. Koerner explained to the audience the latest advances in humanoid robotics, the challenge for scientists and engineers in this field of research and the potential future benefits to society of this advanced form of mobility.

Commenting after the presentation, Professor Dr. Koerner said,
"Our long term goal is to create a robot that can move like humans, interact with them and be of assistance to them. Today's visit to the European Parliament was a superb opportunity for us to demonstrate to some of Europe's key decision makers that humanoid robotics and cognitive systems will have significant implications for future society."

About ASIMO in Europe
Since its introduction in Europe in 2003, ASIMO has met with a number of important dignitaries, including: Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, His Royal Highness Juan Carlos, the King of Spain, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Bavarian Minister President Edmund Stoiber, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Her Royal Highness Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and most recently Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian Prime Minister.

About ASIMO
ASIMO, which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, is widely regarded as the world's most advanced humanoid robot. Launched in 2000, it was the first robot to master intelligent, real-time, flexible walking technology.

In December 2004, Honda announced a series of cutting-edge technologies for the next-generation ASIMO humanoid robot. Targeting a new level of mobility that will improve the way ASIMO functions and interacts with people, the key technologies include:

a)

"Posture Control" technology making it possible to run in a natural human-like way.